On the flip side, the concert will also boast the Texas premiere of Jeffrey Nytch’s Symphony No. 1 Formations, which was commissioned by the Boulder Philharmonic and, of all groups, the Geological Society of America to celebrate their 125th anniversary.

And Nytch was the perfect guy for the job.

Before Saturday’s show, Nytch spoke about “Formations,” its relation to West Texas and switching from a career geologist to a composer.

MRT: So, “Formations” is based on actual rock formations. Where do you begin with that?

Nytch: I started with doing my homework of the geology of the American southwest generally and the Rocky Mountains specifically. And the more I studied the geology, the more musical it became.

MRT: Can you describe the connection between those formations and your music?

Nytch: For instance, there are certain rock formations that keep reappearing throughout the story — in the same way that musical themes might reappear over the course of a musical work. Other geologic components were transformed over time, so each time they appear they are in a slightly different form.

This reminded me of how musical motives can be transformed as they work their way through a piece of music. So transforming the main geologic processes to musical forms actually felt quite natural to me.

MRT: “Formations” follows the sounds from the Rocky Mountains to even the Permian Basin. How does the music compare to each other through different formations?

Nytch: That’s an interesting question. I think the music from “Formations” that is most closely tied to the Permian Basin is the third movement, “Requiems.” I wanted to write a movement about fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas, because those fuels are such a huge part of the history of American west — whether we’re talking the oil fields of West Texas or those of Colorado, Wyoming and elsewhere. “Requiems” is the slow movement, and it’s a contemplation of the fact that the fuels that make our modern civilization possible are derived from the remains of previously living things. To me that’s rather poignant, and worthy of our reflection.

MRT: On the surface, the Permian Basin would seem a quieter feel being lower to the ground while the Rockies would seem either more ethereal because of their height or more severe with their jagged appearance.

Nytch: The music that is specific to the Rockies — particularly the last movement — is far more tumultuous than the music of the Permian Basin and the Cretaceous Seaway, heard in the third movement. The conditions that produced the West’s vast oil and natural gas reserves were largely warm, tropical, quiet seas. That is quite a contrast to the continental collisions and volcanic outbursts that formed the Rockies.

MRT: You started out in geology. How did you end up in music?

Nytch: Well, that’s something of a long story. I was definitely the kid who couldn’t decide what he wanted to be when he grew up — not because I had no idea, but because I had too many! I was singing and studying piano since age 5, and music was certainly a huge part of my life growing up. But I never really considered a professional life in music until I began to study composition in college. By that time I had also fallen in love with geology, so I majored in both. I even went to grad school in geology for a while before realizing that I couldn’t do everything I was interested in at the level I was capable of, and that meant I had to choose. Once I put it in those terms it was clear to me that music was the way for me.

MRT: What are other ways you’ve experimented with music and geology.

Nytch: When I was still in college I wrote a couple of pieces attempting to combine the two, but they weren’t very successful. My senior thesis in music was a sprawling piece for two pianos that used musical motives derived from x-ray spectrometer frequencies for various minerals. It was an interesting idea, but it didn’t produce very interesting music!

This concert also marks a first for the MOSC. Executive director Jeanette Kolokoff mentioned a couple of surprises for both Saturday night’s audience and fans in general.

“PBS will be taping an episode focused on the MOSC for the show ‘Western Perspectives,’” she revealed.

The show will follow trumpet player Eric Baker as he preps for the show and through his performance along with interviews with him and Kolokoff. PBS will then be in the Wagner Noel filming both the concert, the backstage process and the audience.

“And also, KXT radio has plans to rebroadcast the show on Nov. 23. So this is all new for us and and a really exciting opportunity,” she added.

No date has been slated for the episode nor has the time for the rebroadcast yet been announced.